Chris,
It's not that it's unpopular or popular, it's that it's wrong IMO.
The people who mostly bitch about shorters are naive retail investors who have been suckered into a share promotion or a pump & dump & have been left holding the baby. Despite regulators requiring short positions above 0.5% to be declared daily Notification and disclosure of net short positions you regularly see people on the financial BBS claiming shorters are destroying / manipulating / controlling the share price of 'their' company (when it's not the market makers up to their dastardly deeds) when there is no evidence of any short position at all. More likely it is the pumpers getting out in volume that're responsible for the price drop, leaving the mugs to hold spiked shares. In bigger companies, FTSE companies, shorters have spotted an issue that they believe will result in a lower share price, or possibly, the demise of the company. Carillion was shorted big time before it collapsed. The shorters knew the writing was on the wall while the co., their advisors, their accountants & mgmt. consultants continued to advise everybody all was tickety boo. Shareholders were wiped out to the tune of £Billions.
Shorting is dangerous, with big rewards & bigger penalties if you get it wrong. IME shorters do better research & know what they're talking about. They have to, or they'll be mortally wounded.
The top 10 shorted shares in London - Short Interest Tracker - Companies . Some huge companies & household names on that list. See where these companies are in 6 months.
It's not that it's unpopular or popular, it's that it's wrong IMO.
The people who mostly bitch about shorters are naive retail investors who have been suckered into a share promotion or a pump & dump & have been left holding the baby. Despite regulators requiring short positions above 0.5% to be declared daily Notification and disclosure of net short positions you regularly see people on the financial BBS claiming shorters are destroying / manipulating / controlling the share price of 'their' company (when it's not the market makers up to their dastardly deeds) when there is no evidence of any short position at all. More likely it is the pumpers getting out in volume that're responsible for the price drop, leaving the mugs to hold spiked shares. In bigger companies, FTSE companies, shorters have spotted an issue that they believe will result in a lower share price, or possibly, the demise of the company. Carillion was shorted big time before it collapsed. The shorters knew the writing was on the wall while the co., their advisors, their accountants & mgmt. consultants continued to advise everybody all was tickety boo. Shareholders were wiped out to the tune of £Billions.
Shorting is dangerous, with big rewards & bigger penalties if you get it wrong. IME shorters do better research & know what they're talking about. They have to, or they'll be mortally wounded.
The top 10 shorted shares in London - Short Interest Tracker - Companies . Some huge companies & household names on that list. See where these companies are in 6 months.
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